Hong Meirin
frame|right Introduction A Chinese youkai serving as the gate guard of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Generally agreeable, so long as you don't try to sneak past her. Often called China or Chugokuu, due to the fact that her name can be romanized two ways. Debuting in a patch in IaMP but universally regarded as the weakest character in the game, Meirin returns again in Hisoutensoku with considerable upgrades in all aspects. Those of you playing her from IaMP may be disappointed to notice that her dropkick (214) and grazing attack (236) have both been turned into 214 moves, so you can no longer use both at once. An awkward chi beam replaces her 236 graze attack. Normal Moves Melee 5AAA: Dial-A combo. Meiling has 3 finishers for her dial A. :First two A's: Two quick jabs. Old 5A. Hits mid. :Third A: Hits her with her elbow, has enough hitstun to use in combos. Old 66A. Hits high, drains one orb on wrongblock. ::Fourth A: A forward kick, only super cancellable. Old 5B. Bad hitstun, for the most part you should avoid completing dial-A unless you're going to use an orb super at the end. Note that this kick won't add to limit unlike the other finishers. Hits high, drains one orb on wrongblock. ::6A: A wide open arm attack. Wallslams. Only spellcard cancellable. Deceptively hits high, drains -two- orbs on wrongblock. ::2A: A low sweeping kick. Knocks down. Only spellcard cancellable. Hits low, drains one orb on wrongblock. f.5A: Old 5B, forward kick, somewhat slow. Can combo into 6A at certain distances. 2A: Old 2A. Crouching poke, hits low. Hits 4 times midscreen before enemy is pushed too far away, 6 times in corner. Drains half an orb on wrong block. Can strangely hit 7 times in a row if they wrongblock it. 3A: Old 22B, hits low. Drains one orb on wrongblock. 3A: Same as above, but chargeable. Launches into the air briefly on hit. Guard crushes if blocked low. 6A: Old 22A. Meiling charges forward a bit, slamming into the enemy with her back. Hits high, drains one orb on wrongblock. Launches across the screen on hit. 6A: Same as above, but charged. Guard crushes on wrongblock. j.5A: Old j.B. A flying kick. Combos into j.6A, j.8A and j.2A. Hits high, drains 1 orb on wrongblock. Drains half an orb if blocked in the air. j.6A: Same as above, except it launches Meiling forward. Cannot be used close to the ground. Drains half an orb if blocked in the air. j.8A: Two-hitter move. First hit causes Meiling to thrust upwards with her leg raised, second one bring the leg down and launches the enemy into the ground. Can cancel into a bullet after the first hit, and that's only if it connects (regardless of block). Hits high, drains half on orb each hit in the air, one on wrongblock on the ground (which will probably never happen unless you're hitting Utsuho). j.2A: Old j.A. Meiling spazzes about with a teal orb of chi energy in her hands. Two hits. First hits in a lower arc from in front of her chest, all the way down to slightly behind her. Second one goes straight to the top-right. It's much more common for both hits to occur than it was in IaMP, and they have a long enough stun in the air that they can often be followed up on. Drains half an orb on each hit in the air, hits high, drains 1 on wrongblock on ground. Can't get a second hit in on the ground. 66A: A short forward thrust with her elbow, in IaMP. Hits high. Drains 1 orb on wrongblock. All of Hong's 66 moves chain fairly easily into some spell cards. 66B: Some combination of old 214B and 6A. She rushes forward, stomps on the ground while thrusting a palm forward. The stomp and tremor graphic have no hitbox. Hits high despite mid appearance, drains 1 orb on wrongblock. 66C: Old 33C? Meiling does a sweeping low kick as seen in her 3A. Has EXCELLENT momentum preservation, Meiling keeps flying across the screen at a nice rate while using this. Hits low, drains 1 orb on wrongblock. Chains into the following cards: Level 1 Youhou, Comet Kick (not in corner on some chars), Lunge. Bullets 5B: Old close-C bullet. A quick burst of Chi energy in front of Meiling. Can be charged. 5% limit. Drains 1/2 an orb on block. 5B: Longer range, launches enemy on hit. Drains 1 orb on block. 6B: Old A bullets. Shoots out 7 glowing shards, all a colour of the rainbow, in a wide arc in front of Meiling. Lingers briefly at the end of their flight before vanishing. 2B: Old 2C. Meiling kneels and makes a quick burst of green chi energy erupt from the ground. BIG vertical hitbox, launches on hit. Drains half on orb on block. 5C: Old B-bullets. 'Rainbow swirlies/wheels'. Meiling kicks forward (that is, the kick is in front of her, she doesn't actually move!) and launches a swirly rainbow light about a quarter-screen distance that lingers for a little over a second. 3 hits, 5% limit per, 15% total. Drains 3/4 an orb on full hit. 5C: Charged version of swirly. Bigger, more...swirly. Extra limit, no extra damage. Same orb drain. 6C: Old 2A. Meiling launches a quick chi orb. 3 hits, 10% limit each. Has nice homing properties. Drains 1 orb on block. 6C: Same as above, only the orb travels much faster. Travels through a blocking opponent too fast to drain as much spirit as the uncharged version. 2C: Old 2B. Meiling jumps into the air and kicks out a swirly above and to the right of her, the bottom of it being about two character heights up. Whiffs at point blank. j.5B: Same as 5B. j.6B: Same as 6B. j.2B: j.5B, only downwards. j.5C: Rainbow swirlies in midair! j.6C: Glowing chi orb in midair, homing. Special Moves 236B/C: Meiling charges a moment and launches a big chi blast in front of her. Decent range, but slow startup. Startup can be delayed. Drains 1.25 orbs on block. alt 236B/C (Rainbow Orb): Meiling makes circular gestures with her hands as if she was using an orb super, but instead a big rainbow circle appears in the air in front of her. After a brief moment an orb shoots out. 30% limit total, 3 hits. B and C can be held to delay the orb but otherwise there is no apparent difference. 1069 damage at level 1 with 1368 at level 4. Drains 1 orb on block. alt 236B/C (Whirlwind): Meiling spins about in a quick circle and becomes surrounded briefly by a rainbow whirlwind as rainbow shards are shot up into the air. They travel into the air and then arc down towards the ground on both sides of Meiling. C version makes the shards go farther. Damage is fairly random, and C version does more. At level 4 and pointblank range C version does most of the time 3k damage. Each shard drains 1/5 an orb on block. 623B/C - Crimson Cannon: Old 623. Meiling makes a manly pose and thrusts her fist towards the heavens, causing an explosion at the end. Quick move, vulnerable recovery. B version keeps Meiling in place, C version moves her slightly forward. Hits high, drains 2 orbs on wrongblock. alt 623B/C (Red Blast): Meiling braces herself in an awkward manly way while a suction-sounding noise plays in the background. And then a small red explosion happens directly in front of her. C version has a massive delay but is unblockable. Does not seem comboable, has an extremely small and close hitbox. Not a suggested card. alt 623B/C (Golden Light): Like her super, Meiling becomes a Super Saiyan. For a few seconds, the next attack she makes has counterhit properties and does more damage. Only works on your first hit, however. Increased levels probably just improve the damage of that first hit. 22B/C - Yellow Tremor Step: Old 214B/C. A stomp on the ground. Boom. Hits the ground in front and behind Meiling, can be charged. Both versions launch enemy into the air, charged version does it long enough for followup attacks. Drains 1 orb on block, 2 on wrongblock, hits low. No difference in orb damage if charged. Why are Meiling's move so manly? alt 22B/C (Forward Tremor): Meiling stomps the ground, sending a small tremor along the ground to the opponent. C version moves faster than B. Charging this causes a tremor to go behind you as well. Each tremor drains 1 spirit orb on block. alt 22B/C (Comet Kick): Meiling leaps forward into the air in a comet kick. B version carries you forward and then just drops you, C version carries farther forward and keeps you moving forward as you land. Hits high, 1 orb drained on wrongblock. 214B/C - Cyclone Light Step: Old 236B/C. Meiling pauses briefly, makes a flashy rainbow orb around her fist and then lunges forward. Graze attack. C version launches farther than B. Vulnerable startup. Hits high, drains 1 orb on wrongblock. alt 214B/C (Rainbow Needles): Meiling does a series of rapid punches in a wide fan arc in front of her, accompanied by rainbow shard projectiles. This usually hits roughly 10 times, and then finishes it off with an elbow butt to the chest. Around 1.5k damage on level 1 alone, not ax bad card. The initial punches hit mid for around 1/2 an orb at point blank, the ending thrust hits high with 1 orb drain on wrongblock. alt 214B/C - Flying Flower Kick : Old 421B/C. Meiling leaps into the air, bringing down her leg in a rainbow axekick. B version goes farther than C, but C has a major vertical leap. Hits upper, drains 1 orb on wrongblock. Can be used midair with all the same properties. Spellcards Manly Sign "Heavenly Brofist": 3 cards. Old Level 1 Youhou card. 50% limit, 1.6k damage ish. Launches the enemy so far into the air it seems like they got stuck in the ceiling, but they did not(Manly Space Punch). You -can- follow this up in the corner with a j.A hit of some sort if you're able to time when they come down after a few seconds, but they usually fall really quickly. 2C is easier to hit, but lets the opponent recover faster. Hits high, drains two orbs on wrongblock. Three Steps "Colorful Mountain Crusher": 5 cards. Old Level 2 Youhou. Meiling thrusts forward with her palm for the first hit, spins around and slams into them with her back for the second, launching them into the air, and then she does a 623 punch that sends them flying. 50% limit, 5330 damage. Hits high, guard crushes if blocked low but Meiling doesn't continue the combo. Light Sign "Brilliant Jade": 3 cards. Old level 1 orb card. 5 hits, roughly 1600 damage, 20% limit. Drains 1.25 total orbs on block. Bright Light "Glorious Morning Star": 5 cards. Old level 2 orb card. 10 hits, 3400 damage, 40% limit. Roughly 5 seconds delay where Meiling conjures the orb in front of her before she launches it across the screen. Any enemy inside the orb while it's being conjured will take damage, similar to IaMP's orb. Drains two spirit orbs on block if not held in place. Colorful Sign "Rainbow Wind Chime": 2 cards. Old level 1 whirlwind card. This time, though, it moves Meiling forward instead of up into the air. Reversal. 11 hits, 1.7k - 2.3k damage. Supreme Color "Rainbow Whirlwind": 4 cards. Old level 2 whirlwind card. Meiling swiftly launches herself vertically into the air surrounded by swirly rainbow winds of death. 34 hits, 3700 damage. Avoid using it in typhoon since Meiling gets pushed away as they're hit. Rainbow Sign "???" (Rainbow Fists): 2 cards. Causes Meiling to perform a series of quick punches in the air accompanied by rainbows. Unfortunately, hitting them enemy both pushes them away from you and you away from them, so at best you'll get 5 hits and 1000 or so damage out of this card. Do not recommend. You can move forward or backwards slightly by holding in that direction. ' (Glowing Light with Meiling in Center)': 4 cards. SUPER SAIYANNNNNNN! Upon activation, Meiling starts flashing gold and all of her attacks gain counterhit properties in addition to dealing more damage. (Glowing 'Comet'): Meiling stomps the ground, sending the enemy into the air, and then she rushes forward and unleashes a devastating kick similar to alt 22B/C that carries both her and the enemy across the screen. 19 hits, 3107 damage, 2k800-ish damage if you didn't hit the first ground stomp. 100% limit. Stomp hits low, drains 1 orb on wrongblock. The flying kick hits high and CANNOT be wrongblocked. Flower Sign "???" (Lunge): 5 cards. While the image makes it look like a kick, it's not. Meiling rushes past the enemy, and then pauses on the other side of them with her palm facing away. The enemy remains stunned as rainbow chi energy builds up, eventually unleashing itself in a massive explosion. Two hits, 4500 damage, guaranteed limit. Colorful Sign "???" (Rainbow Pentagram/Ground Thing): 4 Cards. Meiling stomps on the ground, causing a circular wall of rainbows to appear all around her. It slowly moves out and damages the enemy if they touch it. Takes awhile to fade, but even using it in a combo you'll generally only get roughly 3 hits out of it. Drains 1/3 of a spirit on every blocked hit. Combos Midscreen :5AAA 2B hj9... ::j.5A j.6A j.5B/6B/5C/6C (If near corner) ::j.6A j.5B/6B/5C/6C (minimal difference, use if 5A won't connect) ::j.5A j.8AA (If you want a guaranteed grounding/knockdown) :Spirit Orb Usage: 2 or 3 :Notes: Works anywhere, hj9 may not connect on some characters. :'''5AAA 2B 2C alt 214C (Flying Flower Kick) - 2200 damage :Spirit Orb Usage: 3 :Notes: 95% limit. :5AAA 2B alt 22B/C (Comet Kick) 2144 at alt skill max :5AAAA 22B/C :Spirit Orb Usage: 1 :Notes: Works anywhere, simple knockdown for nearly 2000 damage. :'j.2A (one hit) 3A 623B :Spirit Orb Usage: 1 :Notes: Works with both a crossup and a non crossup j.2A, 105% limit. :'5C... ::j.2A ::j.5A j.6A ::j.5A j.6A j.5B/6B/5C/6C (If near corner) ::j.5A j.5A j.8AA (near corner if you want a guaranteed grounding/knockdown) :Spirit Orb Usage: 2 :'''22B/C Three Steps "Colorful Mountain Crusher" 236B/C :Damage: 4540 :Notes: Works anywhere. Difficult spacing midscreen. Corner :5AAA 5B 5C 623B/C :'''5AAA 2B 5C j.A j.8A 2499, 100% limit :5AAA 2B 5C j.A j.8A j.5C 2539 damage, 95% limit, opponent can tech--punish with j.8D j.8A j.5C :5AAA 2B j.2A j.5C j.66 j.A j.8A 2478, 100% limit, alternative in case one of them is character dependent :'''5AAA 5B 5C j.A j.2A 623B/C 2862 damage, 110% limit. Both hits from j.2A, timing is strict. :5AAA 6B 6C 214C 2397 point blank, 2635 at max range. Easy and good damage but uses 3 orbs immediately. :5AAA 6B 6C alt 22C (Comet kick) 2619 damage :5AAA 6B 6C Three Steps "Colorful Mountain Crusher" 236B/C 4440 damage, blue ring :3A 2B hj.9 j.5A j. 6A 2000 damage, use when 3A lands. :j.2A 5C j.5A j.6A j.5C 1955 damage, use when j.2A lands only one hit. :66A/B/C (Lunge) 3955(A)/3364(B)/3260© damage :66A/B/C (Glowing 'Comet') 2867(A)/2866(B)/2807© damage Strategies Tranquil as a forest But on fire within Once you find your center You are sure to win You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot And you haven't got a clue Somehow I'll make a China of you Hong Meirin You must be swift as the coursing river Hong Meirin With all the force of a great typhoon Hong Meirin With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon.